Quote:
Originally Posted by DiapDealer
And rather than actually come up with a REAL plan for the eventual--and inevitable--demise of their current business model, they'd rather stall by inflating the price of ebooks in hopes that someone--anyone--comes along, slays the dragon for them, and allows them to eke out a little more time with their outdated business model and bloated infrastructure (which is still doomed even if Amazon closes its doors tomorrow).
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This next Random House Penguin link certainly seems to me to be such a plan. I dislike the plan -- it amounts to having the author pay for services previously paid for by readers -- but it's a plan:
http://www.authorsolutions.com/Default.aspx
Questions:
1. Of the hundreds of US publishers, are there any which you do think have a "REAL plan?" And can you name for me your favorite book, not self-published (since you say you want big publishers to survive) which was improved by said plan?
2. What is is that you most fear if the big publishers are doomed to withdrawal from the US, or other, markets due to not having followed your advice? Economic harm to New York City? Lack of up-front advances to fund book research? Anything else?
P.S. Last night I finished this Hachette page-turner that's somewhat relevant to this debate:
Factory Man: How One Furniture Maker Battled Offshoring, Stayed Local - and Helped Save an American Town
The lesson may be that when almost everyone is saying that the old business model is totally broken, and needs to be thrown onto a slow boat to you know where, sometimes all the old model needs is some tweaking, and a relentless focus on quality.